Intercooler pipe questions...
 

Hey all. In a few months my lease will be up on my current Civic and I am going to be getting a 2019 Si. I don't intend to go crazy with mods but some of the things I intend to do: Pilot Sports, sway bars, maybe lowering springs, PRL Cobra CAI, FlashPro or Reflash, maybe exhaust, and intercooler pipes. I do not intend to change the factory intercooler so that cuts my hose options in half. I was looking at the Injen pipe kit (sku: ses1573icpwr) and the AEM charge pipe. My question is, why is the AEM just one pipe? And are there any other options?

Lastly, is there anything else I should do to the car that's not a crazy time extensive mod?

Thanks!

Re: Intercooler pipe questions...
 

Since its a new car probably not a ton of info or people knowledgeable on it. Its one of those things you're going to have to break ground on yourself or just call or email AEM and ask them directly.

Re: Intercooler pipe questions...
 

May i ask why not changing the oem intercooler?

Re: Intercooler pipe questions...
 

Probably not worth the hassle and to get the most outta your reflash an upgraded intercooler would be better than just piping...

Piping isn't gonna do much except maybe some throttle response.

Re: Intercooler pipe questions...
 

Don't bother with the CAI, this isn't an NA car. The stock insulated box does a helluva lot more than you think over the CAI, plus, install of the CAI is a pain in the ass for not much improvement. Remember, you're turbocharged now, not NA.

There's no point in changing intercooler piping without changing the intercooler itself. The stock intercooler doesn't do too badly with the stock turbocharger, but once you do that Reflash to 25psi (aka +9psi" reflash), you'll wish you had upgraded intercoolers while you're pushing the stock turbocharger past its efficiency points.

As for piping and intercooler, GReddy is soon to release their kit (if they haven't already), and I think will be well worth that investment instead of just going by the "what's out there now", approach.

Re: Intercooler pipe questions...
 

Shodan, how did you determine the stock insulated air box would do "a helluva lot more than CAI"?

Re: Intercooler pipe questions...
 

Well... I guess I can only say from:
1) Owning turbo hondas for almost 20 years with a variety of configurations. Owning multiple factory turbo cars with changes in intake tube designs.

2) Understanding and mastering the general principles, And specific aerodynamics of turbocharger compressors and their designs, in addition to aerodynamic effects of intake air into a turbocharger compressor since my days at Honeywell.

I understand the need and principles behind what it takes to obtain a source of cooler air into the actual turbocharger compressor, so that when the compressor Heats that charge air, it can be more effective entering the intake chamber. However, it is actually the intercooler itself that does that job more so than some CAI.

Even a lot of aftermarket components made for factory-turbocharged vehicles, simply use intake systems that simply block off the ambient increased air temperatures of the engine bay using materials that keep the intake itself inside the engine bay that are much more effective at assisting the compressor in keeping intake air at least a few degrees down, instead of using some large snake like to down to the bottom of the car where it could be more at risk of ingesting water or causing damage to the turbocharger compressor.

Look at intercooler functions, and how they work. You want cooler charge air in the intake manifold to combust more efficiently. A CAI won't do that, really. A better intercooler can. That's a different need than in the NA world.